‘The right thing to do for our community’: North Myrtle Beach makes paid parking changes
Visitors frequenting North Myrtle Beach this summer will have to pay an hourly fee to park in various areas along Ocean Boulevard.
What used to be free parking on the city’s public right-of-ways side streets will now cost $2 per hour for those without decals after North Myrtle Beach City Council approved a series of changes to the city’s paid parking program Monday night. Other changes include allowing part-time city residents and Horry County residents living outside city limits to purchase parking decals for $200.
“I think that as usual this council works hard to get to what we feel is the right decisions and the right thing to do for our community,” Mayor Marilyn Hatley said. “And I think this is a prime example.”
The decision to expand paid parking to side streets comes after the city found an imbalance in demand for beachfront lots last summer as motorists without decals sought other alternatives. Officials believe upping the cost along side streets adjacent to Ocean Boulevard will encourage visitors to park in the city’s recently-enhanced public lots, where parking also carries a $2 fee.
Parking can be paid via mobile app.
In a change from the guidelines approved when the parking program launched last year, part-time city residents can now apply for one free parking permit per household with the opportunity to purchase an additional permit for $200. While it is not required for the individual’s vehicle or golf cart to be registered to their city address, proof of residential property ownership will be required.
Full-time residents, who already get two free permits per household, could also purchase one additional permit for $200.
Additionally, the city will allot a maximum of 200 annual parking permits for Horry County residents living outside of city limits to purchase for $200. However, the permits will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We heard the concerns of our citizens, we heard concerns from people outside the city and I think what we’re trying to do is to address those concerns as best as possible,” Hatley said.
City officials last year implemented a series of programs to make parking more effective and safer along Ocean Boulevard during the busy tourism season.
Plans included spending nearly $500,000 to modify 12 beach access lots between 6th Avenue North and 18th Avenue North to create 200 additional spaces and a paid-parking program that carried a $2 per hour fee in all public parking lots on both sides of Ocean Boulevard. A mobile pay app and kiosks were also introduced.
Additionally, the city enforced a residential permit system that allowed full-time city residents to park for free in all paid-parking lots but limited the number of vehicles and golf carts used at a time to one per household. Two free decals per household were issued, but those living outside city limits and vacation homeowners were restricted from accessing them.
Including parking lot extensions, signage, kiosks and other materials, the city spent about $750,000 to initiate the program, which generated about $500,000 in the almost five-months span, officials said.
The paid parking season begins on March 1.
